Graphene Oxide Coated on Copper-Based Exhaust Gas Recirculation Cooler for Future Automotive Engines

The main pollutants from the automobiles are unburned hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides (NOx), soot particles (PM), and carbon monoxides. Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) is a technology used in diesel vehicles to reduce NOx. NOx are formed at high temperatures in the combustion chamber; EGR circulates a portion of exhaust gas to the combustion chamber after cooling it with the help of a heat exchanger known as EGR cooler. The main objective is to increase the efficiency of the EGR cooler by changing its material to copper, which has high thermal conductivity. The main challenge faced was the highly corrosive nature of copper, which was overcome by coating it with Graphene Oxide (GO) by the electrophoretic deposition process. Tests were performed using three EGR coolers made of stainless steel, copper, and GO-coated copper. The results show that EGR cooler with GO-coated copper has the highest rate of heat transfer.